Ryan Lawler

Ryan Lawler is a relapsed journalist. He’s writing again at TechCrunch after a brief stint as a Venture Partner at 500 Startups. Ryan has also covered technology and business for publications such as GigaOM, Contentinople, and Light Reading.

Latest from Ryan Lawler

Americans apply for more than 250 million new financial products each year, but the majority of those applications are completed on paper or over the phone. A startup called Original Tech wants to change that by providing white-label software to improve loan applications completed online. Read More

San Francisco-based ZeroCater is one of a growing number of startups hoping to disrupt the lunch rituals of businesses by providing catered lunches to small and medium-sized businesses in cities around the country. One way the company is seeking to differentiate itself from competitors is with a new offering to stock client’s shelves with produce and snacks. Read More

Bucketfeet wants to allow any artist to create an interesting shoe design. And it’s take one more step in that direction, by moving its production fully on-demand and opening up its site to support hundreds of new designs submitted by its artist community. Read More

HomeLight was founded in 2012 to connect home owners looking to sell with real estate agents in their area who are likely to close quickly and get the best price for their homes. With its business quickly growing, the company has raised $40 million in new funding led by Menlo Ventures. Read More

The Uber saga continues, and the board of directors has weighed in on the brewing battle between early investor Benchmark and former CEO Travis Kalanick. In wake of a lawsuit filed by Benchmark against Kalanick, the company’s board has issued a statement urging both parties to resolve their differences so that employees can get back to work and the company can get back to hiring a new CEO. Read More

Global co-working behemoth WeWork is best known for providing flexible office rentals to startups and other small businesses, but enterprise clients are becoming an increasingly large portion of its business. With that in mind, WeWork has acquired Israeli startup Unomy to help its team sell enterprise clients on the idea of opening offices in its workspaces around the world. Read More

Global payments processing company PayPal announced this morning that it has agreed to acquire Swift Financial, which provides small business owners with working capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition will give PayPal better tools to expand its own Working Capital product. Read More

Los Angeles-based Pistol Lake has developed what it thinks could be the next thing in men’s activewear — a line of shirts and other products made with new fabric that could be worn at the gym or out and about. To fund the next evolution of its product expansion, the company has raised $600,000 in new funding. Read More

Everyone should be saving for retirement, but not everyone has an employer that offers a 401(k) plan. Guideline wants to change that, and the company has raised $15 million to grow its base of small business customers making retirement more attainable for employees. Read More

For car owners, getting their vehicle repaired or even dealing with routine maintenance can be a pain. Launching today, a company called CarDash wants to make auto service less painful and more transparent. Read More

Savings app Qapital wants people to make more conscious decisions around their money. While to date that meant helping its users build up savings, now Qapital will help manage their day-to-day spending through a new checking account and debit card. Read More

Codecademy has spent the last several years building a large community of learners with free lessons aimed at teaching its users the basics of how to code. But now it’s betting that many of them will be willing to pay for more intensive courses. Read More

San Francisco-based startup Juvo wants to help mobile users in emerging markets improve their financial standing by combining data and identity to provide micro-loans. It’s an ambitious goal, and to help achieve it, the company has raised $40 million in funding led by NEA and Wing Venture Capital. Read More

Insurance is one of those markets where startups see an opportunity to apply new technologies and data to lower costs and improve the consumer experience. And Kin Insurance is one of those startups that thinks it can do a better job of helping homeowners in particular get insured. Read More

Mesh Wi-Fi router company Eero wants to provide an easy way for consumers to connect and connect with all the smart devices in their home. As it looks to build more intelligence around how those devices interact, the company has acqui-hired the team behind smart home management app Thington. Read More

In the latest hearing to define the scope of the upcoming trial between self-driving technology rivals Waymo and Uber, District Judge William Alsup said Anthony Levandowski, the star engineer at the center of the affair, could be called to testify in court. Read More

With its Stripe Connect product, Stripe wants to make it easier for on-demand and marketplace businesses to not only process payments from their customers, but also make payments to contractors and vendors. In an effort to bolster the tax reporting tools available to them, the company has acquired long-term partner Payable. Read More

It’s hard raising money as a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, but one startup wants to make it easier. CircleUp, which already helps consumer brands raise millions in equity financing, is now going to issue loans to help smaller CPG companies raise working capital and avoid cash crunches. Read More

On the heels of announcing a fresh $70 million in funding led by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik AB, Betterment is launching a new messaging feature that will allow users to ask questions and get answers from its team of financial advisors. Read More

Since 2010, Marqeta has quietly established itself as the underlying tech provider for businesses that are looking to issue virtual and physical debit and credit cards to employees, partners and customers alike. As it looks to expand internationally and sign up customers around the globe, the company has taken $25 million in strategic investment from payments heavyweight Visa. Read More